No abstract

Faculty members of each university are responsible for preparing and implementing shared testing. While the questions for computer-based testing(CBT)are publicly gathered and prepared by each university every year, the effort to prepare questions for CBT is said to be meaningful not only in improving the question preparation skill of the faculty members but also in improving educational awareness and strengthening collaborations among different fields. In the present study, we evaluated the effects on educational activities and the awareness of the faculty members responsible for question preparation. A survey was conducted among faculty subjects who were responsible for CBT question preparation. The rates of positive responses received regarding question preparation for CBT were high, and no significant rate difference was observed between the items. The scores in the basic department group and the clinical department group regarding the level of understanding of the dental education model core curriculum, the level of understanding of the importance of education, and the effect on improving the awareness of education were each significantly higher in the basic department group than in the clinical department group (p < 0.05). Among the overall positive responses, there were no significant differences between the basic department group and the clinical department group, while the negative responses (items needing study and improvement) were significantly different(p < 0.05)between the two groups. These results suggest that the preparation of questions for CBT contributes to increased effects on and consciousness of educational activities, and the effects were particularly high in the basic department group. In addition, in the clinical departments, there was a high rate of items needing study and improvement, as clinical department faculty members have clinical practice as well as education and research to manage, which requires considerable effort and hinders the pursuit of other tasks. The study results also indicated that our facultyʼs system for the preparation of questions needs to be not only maintained but also further improved to increase the understanding and consciousness of education and to reduce the burden of education, as there were some items showing less educational effects, understanding, and change.

In workshops(WSs)that are part of faculty development, it is first important to set an objective, and then for small numbers of participants to engage in effective and efficient within-group discussions in order to achieve that objective. Generally, tasks in WSs are performed in order to achieve the objective, and WS participants must present feasible products through an on-site learning process in a limited amount of time. They then engage in discussions with other WS participants. Regarding the specific methods and materials for assessing a WS and evaluating its effects on participants, analyses of the WS products and questionnaires, which provide a good general overview, have been carried out and reported. However, studies on the assessment of computer-based testing(CBT)WSs in dental medicine and its effects are extremely limited. Therefore, in the present study, with the objective of achieving further progress and improvement in dental education, we evaluated the effects of CBT WSs on the education and awareness of participants, and report the results herein. An examination regarding the level of understanding achieved according to type of question or educational activity was carried out on participants both pre-and post-WS. In the overall post-WS assessment, the mean scores regarding the value and appropriateness of the content were high, and the WS method was highly evaluated in terms of effectiveness. The mean scores for level of understanding attained through question types were significantly higher post-WS than pre-WS (P ＜ 0.001). The mean scores for level of understanding regarding the Model Core Curriculum for Dental Education and the importance of student-oriented education, as well as self-evaluations of the level of educational awareness were also significantly higher post-WS than pre-WS(P＜ 0.001). These results suggested the value and appropriateness of the WS content, as well as the effectiveness of the WS as a study method. The results also indicated that WSs contribute to deeper educational understanding and improved awareness, as they were shown to be both useful in helping participants better understand CBT-related questions and effective in helping participants master alternative questions with high applicability.